Police In Queens Find Missing Autistic Boy, 12

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A 12-year-old autistic boy from Queens who disappeared Thursday morning has been found.

Brandon Betancourt was last seen leaving his home on 66th Road around 7 a.m. Police said he ran away from his mother as she was putting her 8-year-old child on a bus.

His mother immediately called 911 and an all-out search was launched.

The boy had apparently boarded a train. Police found him just before noon at the J train station at Broadway Junction in Queens, 1010 WINS’ Carol D’Auria reported.

News of the 12-year-old’s disappearance came on the heels of an announcement Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice saying it will fund voluntary tracking devices for children with autism or other conditions that put them at risk for fleeing their caregivers.

The move was prompted by the disappearance of 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo, an autistic boy from Queens who disappeared from his school on Oct. 4. His remains were found in the East River two weeks ago.